San Carlos, Calif.— Glycomine, Inc., a biotechnology firm developing therapies for rare diseases, announced Tuesday that it has raised $115 million in a Series C financing round to advance its lead candidate, GLM101, into a Phase 2b clinical trial.
The financing was co-led by CTI Life Sciences Fund, abrdn Inc., and Advent Life Sciences, with continued support from existing investors including Novo Holdings, Sanofi Ventures, and Abingworth, among others.
GLM101 is a first-in-class mannose-1-phosphate replacement therapy being developed to treat phosphomannomutase-2 congenital disorder of glycosylation (PMM2-CDG)—the most common and life-threatening congenital disorder of glycosylation. Currently, there are no approved therapies for PMM2-CDG.
“This financing will enable us to advance GLM101 into a randomized, placebo-controlled trial later this year—an important step toward bringing the first disease-modifying therapeutic to patients with PMM2-CDG,” said Steve Axon, CEO of Glycomine.
Glycomine’s ongoing open-label Phase 2 study has enrolled more than 20 patients in Europe and the U.S., including pediatric participants. Early data from the trial have shown clinical proof of concept, with notable improvements in ataxia—a primary and debilitating symptom of PMM2-CDG. Among nine adult and adolescent patients, GLM101 demonstrated an average 11.9-point improvement on the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) over a 24-week period.
“We are highly encouraged by the clinical signal observed in the ongoing Phase 2 study,” said Dominic Schmidt, Ph.D., General Partner at Advent Life Sciences. “The data show strong potential for meaningful improvement in ataxia, a key burden of disease for PMM2-CDG patients.”
Dr. Schmidt and Youssef Bennani, Ph.D., Managing Partner at CTI Ventures, have joined Glycomine’s Board of Directors as part of the financing agreement.
Glycomine said the new funding will support its plans to initiate the Phase 2b study later this year, bringing the company closer to its goal of delivering the first disease-modifying therapy for PMM2-CDG.
